Know Me When the Sun Goes Down

by Olsen, Lisa

Her hazel eyes, so like Rob’s widened in fear. “The path you’re on... we’ll all be shattered. Pieces broken and parts put back together wrong.”

  Ugh, I was so close, why did she have to talk in riddles? “I don’t understand. You can bring Bishop back, right? That’s what I need to put me back together again.”

  “You won’t be you, I won’t be me...” Her head tipped up to look at the ceiling. “It’ll all of us be caught up in the topsy turvy swirl, and where we land, we won’t never be the same.”

  “Please, Leila. Please, help me.” I shook her, harder than I meant to, and her head wobbled before finding an inner strength, her eyes locking with mine.

  “Break my bones, break my heart, won’t help you. I won’t.”

  “I’m begging you.” I channeled all the desperation and pain into my voice, willing her to feel again how much I needed her help, but in a blink she’d dismissed it all.

  “I’m all over parched, would you like a cuppa tea?” she asked brightly.

  “Leila, please.”

  Rising to her feet, she looked down at me with pity. “Go home. Go home and keep him in your heart.”

  Shoulders slumping, I caved in on myself. “I can’t.”

  * * *

  Bridget didn’t say a word until we were back in the motel room again, and then she was far more upbeat than I was capable of. “So what? Another dead end. There are more witches in the sea. This is Europe, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a witch around here. Are we gonna check out that French thing? I could totally go for some fries right about now.”

  I mustered a faint smile. “Thanks for that. Tomorrow night though. I’m going back to bed.”

  “But you just...”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” She gave up, and I climbed into bed.

  As far as I was concerned, even nightmares would be better than the reality I was facing. Sometimes the dreams were nice. Sometimes I remembered the good times, the stuff that came before.

  “Can I open my eyes yet?”

  “Nope, not yet.” Bishop’s voice was soothing as we sped through the darkened streets of Nice, the spring breeze stirring my hair in the silver convertible. Every once in a while, I got a flash of lights even through my closed eyelids, but for the most part I was literally left in the dark, unable to pick out more than regular traffic sounds.

  “Should I be worried that you made Hanna and Mason stay back at the airport?”

  His laughter floated back to me. “Don’t you worry about them. This is all about you.”

  I felt a thrill of excitement at those words, wondering what he had in store for me. Still, I felt sort of bad for leaving them behind. After all, I’d been the one to invite them along with us, and now here we were, ditching them as soon as the plane touched down at the Cote d’Azur airport. All at once I caught the tang of the sea on the air, and my eyes squinched even tighter shut as I fought to keep from opening them.

  “Are we going to the beach?”

  There was too much activity going on for that. Not the lazy seaside crowd noises, which would be unusual at that time of night anyway, but orders being called out, accompanied by the beeping of equipment. My French was way too rusty to try and pick out the gist of it, and I knew my frustration must be showing from the light chuckle that came from the driver’s seat.

  “I’m glad you’re having a good time torturing me. I’ll have to remember this when it comes to your next birthday. When is your birthday?” I wondered aloud. He’d always managed to duck the question before, and this time proved no different, as Bishop changed the subject.

  “We’re almost there, keep ’em shut.”

  I loved it when he got all bossy like that. Well, within reason. There was a difference between being bossy and jerky, and Bishop stayed on the right side of the line most of the time. The best part was when I got to be bossy right back. It was an exercise in give and take. So far we were making it work.

  The car came to a stop, and Bishop jogged around to my side, his boots thudding against wood – a pier, was my guess. I could hear the water now, lapping up against the side of something big. “Are we at the docks?” I asked as he took my hand, guiding me out of the car.

  “Shh, you’ll see soon enough.” Wrapping one arm around my waist, he led me away from the bustle of people, the breeze lifting the hair away from my neck as we stepped farther away from the shore. The noise of the docks was muffled now, the gentle lap of water against the pilings providing the only sounds.

  Bishop came to a stop and grasped my shoulders, turning me back the way we came. “Okay, stand right about here.” He adjusted my position before he was satisfied, only then embracing me from behind. “Aaaand... go ahead and open your eyes.”

  First I took in a slow breath, enjoying the feel of his arms wrapped around me and the salt in the air mixed with the scent of his aftershave. I blinked them open, taking in the sight of the harbor, the lights from the shore providing a twinkling backdrop. The full moon glistened over the water, which was dark, but not in an ominous way. The vista was entirely peaceful, and exactly what I needed to shake away the last traces of the stress we’d left behind in the Vale.

  “It’s beautiful,” I murmured in approval, smiling as his arms tightened around my middle. Frankly, he could’ve taken me to a deserted road in the middle of nowhere and it wouldn’t have mattered, as long as he was with me.

  “I’m glad you like it. These cruise ships are more intimate than those giant monstrosities back home.”

  Suddenly, I realized I wasn’t supposed to be looking at the coast, I was being presented with the ship, standing out starkly against the harbor. He was right, it wasn’t one of those ginormous boats that housed thousands, but it looked like it would hold a couple hundred passengers easily. “Wait... we’re going on a cruise?”

  “Yeah.” Doubt crept into his voice and he stepped to the side so he could see my face. “Why, is that not a good thing?”

  What could I say? I could smile and pretend like it was the bees knees, but we were trying to minimize the secrets between us since getting our memories back. “Boats aren’t really my thing. You know, after what happened between Rob and Bridget...”

  Bishop nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I know. I’m hoping to fix that.”

  “Oh? And how’s that?”

  “With some positive reinforcement,” he grinned, leaning down to steal a kiss that turned into a lingering embrace. “Sea travel can be absolutely breathtaking, you just have to be open to it.”

  It wasn’t that I objected to sea travel as a concept, I knew how amazing it could be. The sense of hurt and betrayal was gone, thanks to Jakob’s compulsion, but a feeling of ickiness persisted that I wasn’t sure I could let go of yet. “It’s a really nice thought, and the French Riviera is a gorgeous setting for it,” I replied. “I’m just not sure I want to cloud our time together with those kinds of memories.”

  His long fingers slid up to frame the side of my face, his expression softening into a gentle smile. When he looked at me like that, it was hard for me to say no to him, and he knew it. Bishop could probably get me to walk into a nest of giant spiders as long as he kept holding my hand. “It’s time to make some new memories.”

  “You’re not wrong there,” I admitted.

  “What do you say, give it a shot? If you absolutely hate it, we can always get off at the next port.”

  How could I say no to that?

  “Alright, let’s try it out.”

  His eyes crinkled with happiness. “That’s my girl. And, in case you get tired of me, I brought along a few distractions.” He gestured to the end of the dock, where Mason and Hanna waited along with our luggage. Even though I couldn’t see her expression from that far away, I could tell my sister was tense about something from her posture.

  “How come we didn’t all ride to the dock together then? And why did you walk me all the way out here when the boat boards from over there?”

  “I
t’s a ship, not a boat. And I wanted to show you this view, for one. Also, I wanted to make sure you were okay with this before they joined us. It’s really fine if you’d rather not take a cruise.”

  The guy was offering me a romantic cruise, and I had him apologizing for it. I realized I was making a big fuss over nothing. “No, it’s really fine, I promise. I love that you want to make new memories with me. That’s all I want too.”

  His lips leaned down to touch mine again in the briefest of kisses before his forehead settled against mine. “Good. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “Are you guys coming, or should I storm the bridge and take command so they don’t leave without us?” Mason’s voice came booming out over the water, his arms extended as he waited for our reply.

  “We’d better get going, he’s likely to do just that,” Bishop grinned as our heads both swiveled in their direction.

  “Could be fun,” I considered aloud. “It’s certainly one way to end up at the Captain’s table for dinner.”

  “Don’t let him hear you say that, or we’ll end up in his twisted version of The Love Boat before this cruise is over,” he grimaced. “Come on.”

  Mason greeted us with a crisp salute when we joined them on the gangway. “Permission to come aboard, Cap’n?”

  “Granted,” Bishop grinned back, clapping him on the chest in passing on his way to get our bags. Mason went with him, using Bishop’s French to get our luggage taken care of. There were others arriving as well, and I amused myself by watching the parade of fancy cars and limousines.

  Hanna kept staring at her feet, the toe of her shoe digging into a nail that stood out on the pier, hands jammed into her pockets. “What’s the matter?” I finally asked when she refused to glance my way.

  Her shoulders bunched up at the sound of my voice, lips mashed together as she looked up. “You’re not mad about the boat thing, are you?” she asked, teeth clamping down on her bottom lip. “I know the last time we were on one it didn’t work out so well. I didn’t like keeping it from you, but Bishop wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “No, not at all. It’s a nice kind of surprise,” I said quickly, not wanting her to worry. Boy, I had to make people stop walking on eggshells around me. “What’s past is past, and it has nothing to do with us going on a cruise. So you can lose that look around your eyes like you think I’m going to fall apart.”

  “Yeah?” she said, losing the worry altogether as a grin slid across her face. “Good. Then prepare yourself for a kickass time. I hear they have a casino and everything on this boat.”

  “It’s a ship,” I replied automatically, remember Bishop’s correction.

  “Huh?”

  “Nothing.” I waved it away, looping my arm through the crook of her elbow as I caught onto her enthusiasm. “The Evans sisters on the Riviera. One kickass time coming up.”

  Sometimes the dreams were nice, but it never lasted.

  The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by fire, Mason dragging me away from a burning hole in the deck.

  “He’s already gone,” he yelled over the din, face pinched against the unbearable heat as he pinned my arms behind my back.

  But it didn’t take much to break free, desperation lending an extra boost of power. Before I could even turn around, an explosion rocked the boat, sending us flying into the water below. The ocean was cold and black as the inside of a squid.

  I was drowning, and I didn’t care.

  Chapter Three

  Sometime in the night, I rolled over and noticed my phone flashing with an incoming call. As I reached to ignore it, I saw it was Hanna, and answered it instead. “Hey, sis,” I said, trying to inject a note of cheer into my voice, but she wasn’t falling for it.

  “I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Across the room, Bridget snorted loudly. I shot her a dirty look, and she shrugged, slipping out of the room to give me some privacy.

  “Good, then come home,” Hanna pleaded.

  “I can’t. I can’t be at home with all the memories of him.” Whatever I was going through, it’d be a bajillion times worse in familiar surroundings, or a bed we’d shared.

  “Then don’t go home. Tell me where you are and I’ll come to you.”

  It was tempting, but in the end, I couldn’t ask that of her. “No, you can’t go chasing after my mess all the time. I thought you and Mason were looking into that PI thing in LA.”

  “San Diego, but that can totally wait.”

  “I’m really fine, Hanna. I promise.”

  Silence stretched between us as she either accepted my lie, or decided not to push it. “So... I don’t know if this makes it better or worse, but Mason got his hands on the accident report.”

  I sat higher on the bed. “And?” Would we finally get a lead into who was responsible?

  “And that’s just it, it was an accident.”

  “I find that hard to believe. Ships don’t just blow up in the night.”

  “They do if there’s a problem with the fuel lines and the engines spark a massive fire.”

  “And the fire suppression system just happens to fail? Don’t you find that a tad convenient? Maybe we should go down there and...”

  “Anja, he’s been through the science of it with some of the top investigators in the Order. Believe me, if someone’s targeted either one of you for death, they want to know about it. The system hadn’t been serviced in five years. There’s a negligence lawsuit there with your name on it if you want, but there’s no plot afoot. It’s a horrible, senseless accident. It happens, you know.”

  “But not to me.” People in my life tended to get hurt or die, and not by accident.

  “Come home, honey. Let us take care of you.”

  “I can take care of myself.” There was nothing else left to say, and I hung up, rolling back under the covers, waiting for the dreams to come again.

  * * *

  By the time I emerged, Bishop stood out on the balcony, looking every inch the elegant gentleman in his tailored suit, his tie chosen to match my dress. I’d gotten so used to seeing him in his slim-fitting shirts and jeans or cargo pants, it always took my breath away to see him all dolled up. He kept the beard neatly trimmed, framing his strong jaw, his hair shorter, thanks to a recent haircut. The wind ruffled his dark hair, spoiling some of the effect, but making him no less appealing. Boy howdy, was he pretty to look at.

  His eyes appeared nearly black until he stepped into the room, glowing with emerald intensity as they swept over me, taking in the dress. I didn’t need the mirror to tell me he approved of the ensemble. The dress was gorgeous, the same one I’d worn to my New Year’s party at the mansion I’d bought for the West. Hopefully this night wouldn’t end quite so bloodily.

  My blonde hair was swept over one shoulder, held back by a jeweled comb behind my ear, and the diamond choker Jakob had given me sparkled at my throat. I stood tall in stiletto heels, my term as Elder lending me plenty of poise in fancy getups like this one.

  “You’re very...” Bishop’s face twisted with effort, coming up short on adjectives.

  “Thanks,” I smiled, used to his bashful compliments.

  Bishop rubbed the back of his neck. “I keep running out of ways to say beautiful without sounding repetitive.”

  “It’s okay, beautiful works for me.” To be honest, I kind of liked that I still had the ability to knock the words right out of him.

  “It’s not enough,” he said, plenty of heat simmering in those green eyes.

  Warmth flooded through me. “Stop, or we won’t make it out of the room tonight. On second thought, maybe that’s not such a bad idea,” I suggested, sliding my palms up his chest to wrap around his shoulders.

  His hands settled at my waist, lips curving at the notion. “We’ve got plenty of time for that later. But Mason and Hanna are waiting for us.”

  “So, let them wait. It’s not like they’re worried about their dinner getting cold. I’ll be
t we have time for at least one round of mutual appreciation,” I suggested, slipping my hands inside his jacket, but he caught my wrists.

  “Not a chance,” he said sternly, taking a full step backwards so there was plenty of space between us. “There are some things that shouldn’t be rushed. And I intend to take my time when we get to the mutual appreciation part of the evening.” His lips brushed over the backs of my fingers. “Now, are you ready to accompany me up on deck, bâobèi?”

  I melted at the endearment; Bishop didn’t use them often. “Keep quoting Firefly to me and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

  “It’s not really quoting Firefly to use a Chinese word,” he pointed out.

  “It is to me, and that’s what counts.” Deciding to play along with his carefully laid plans, I took hold of his arm. “Fine, let’s go pretend to eat. But there had better be cake like you promised.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  We weren’t shown to the dining room, like I’d been expecting, but up on deck where tables were set with crisp white linens and gold cutlery. The night was mild enough that we didn’t have to pretend to be cold, and the view was spectacular as we pulled out of port.

  A small black box sat in the middle of my place setting, and I went completely still. Was that what I thought it was? The chair hit the back of my legs as I forgot to sit, and I plopped down in a very un-ladylike fashion as Bishop helped me into my seat. Was this it? The proposal I’d been waiting for?

  I couldn’t deny it was a romantic enough setting – on a moonlight cruise through the south of France, on my birthday. And my sister was nearby, ready to help celebrate. How shiny was that?

  What would he say? What would I say? Yes, of course, but what kind of a proposal would Bishop make? Would he get all sentimental, the way he was in his letters? Or would he get all tongue tied the way he did whenever he searched for compliments?

  “Go ahead, open it.” Bishop gave an encouraging nod, and I picked up the box, confused as to why he hadn’t said anything more than that. Maybe he wanted me to get a good look at the ring first? “Happy Birthday, Anja.”